UKRAINE INTENSIFIES MILITARY COOPERATION WITH GEORGIA.

On an official visit to Georgia, Ukrainian defense minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk conferred with President Eduard Shevardnadze and signed with Defense Minister Vardiko Nadibaidze a package of six documents on bilateral military cooperation. The agreements envisage, inter alia: Ukrainian maintenance of Georgian military equipment; training of Georgian army and coastal guard personnel in Ukraine, jointly with Ukrainian army and naval units; cooperation between the two countries’ air forces and air defense forces; and Georgian participation in multinational peacekeeping exercises in Ukraine. Kuzmuk endorsed Tbilisi’s claim to its due share of the ex-USSR’s Black Sea Fleet and called for Georgia’s inclusion in negotiations with Russia on that matter. (Interfax-Ukraine, May 27)

The Monitor is a publication of the Jamestown Foundation. It is researched and written under the direction of senior analysts Jonas Bernstein, Vladimir Socor, Stephen Foye, and analysts Ilya Malyakin, Oleg Varfolomeyev and Ilias Bogatyrev. If you have any questions regarding the content of the Monitor, please contact the foundation. If you would like information on subscribing to the Monitor, or have any comments, suggestions or questions, please contact us by e-mail at pubs@jamestown.org, by fax at 301-562-8021, or by postal mail at The Jamestown Foundation, 4516 43rd Street NW, Washington DC 20016. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution of the Monitor is strictly prohibited by law. Copyright (c) 1983-2002 The Jamestown Foundation Site Maintenance by Johnny Flash Productions